Specialized Centers of Research on Sex and Gender Factors Affecting Women's Health

Reviewed November 2013

The Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH) serves as a focal point to promote, stimulate, and support efforts to improve the health of women through biomedical and behavioral research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). ORWH works in partnership with the NIH institutes and centers, and other federal agencies to ensure that women's health research is part of the scientific framework at NIH and throughout the scientific community.

Through this partnership, the ORWH established Specialized Centers of Research (SCORs) to promote institutional interdisciplinary research in an area important to women's health. The SCOR program supports scientists conducting research that integrates basic, clinical, and translational research. SCORs are associated with one or more major medical centers and are considered national resources.

NIAMS partners with ORWH to support a SCOR on Sex Differences in Musculoskeletal Conditions across the Lifespan directed by Dr. Nancy Lane at the University of California, Davis. This SCOR is an innovative interdisciplinary research program focusing on sex differences and major medical conditions affecting women. Its overarching goal is to inform and transform preventive efforts and clinical practice in the diagnosis and treatment of musculoskeletal conditions in both sexes. The Center will conduct research to characterize sex differences related to osteoporosis, carpal tunnel syndrome, osteoarthritis, and kyphosis.

Specialized Center of Interdisciplinary Research on Sex Differences in Musculoskeletal Conditions across the Lifespan